"When you get saved, you don't get sin management; you get if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." ~ Damon Thompson
I'm not spending a lot of time on the blog today, but I did want to give you something to think about. What is the difference between sin management and being a new creation?
I want you to think like this: If I can manage it, I don't need grace. If I could manage it, Jesus' death on the cross was useless. And if I could manage it, when I fall it means that I simply mismanaged it.
What I am trying to say is that God never intended for us to manage our sin. He wanted to destroy sin in our lives. The only way for man to be free was to allow Jesus to die on the cross. It is through salvation that we are made a new creation. The Bible says that "old things have passed away - all things have become new." If you have a pastor who is simply giving you a Dr. Phil approach to dealing with sin then you need to jump ship! God has given us victory over sin already. So I don't deal with sin, I destroy it by grace through faith.
Ever find yourself going to God and asking Him to "Forgive me again?" Ever said in prayer "I don't know why I keep..." I'll tell you why we often fail in the same areas again and again: We are trying to manage it.
It's time to raise the white flag of surrender by saying "I CAN'T MANAGE THIS BUT GOD CAN!!!" According to His Word you are already "More than a Conqueror." Believe it! Receive it! LIVE IT! And stop trying to manage it!
3 comments:
I love the thought of living without sin in my life, but I find it incredibly difficult to say no to stuff, to do the right thing all the time... I literally find myself saying just do it this time and never again... I want to live without temptation, without fear... I know Jesus has me in the palm of his hand and I love him, but why can't I get rid of sin?
To the first Anonymous:
It is incredibly hard to say "no" to some things and impossible to do the right thing all the time. Instead of trying to renovate the outward issues, pray that God would give you a heart that asks, "You died for me, I want my heart to be completely yours. How much more of me can I give to You?" Work on that and victory comes in the small steps.
Focus on the heart issues.... For example: Once you see that self control is an issue instead of overeating being the issue .... you begin to see self control issues in other parts of your life (big picture). Then you take small steps that God shows you and those small steps carry over into your entire life.
When you make a mistake... do the next RIGHT thing and move forward.
These sin struggles are used to shape us for His glory. You have victory but sometimes it comes quietly, a little at a time and not all at once. He will deliver you and how He chooses to do so (all at once or slowly over time) is His prerogative.
Prayers to you....
Anonymous #1: To live without sin...that IS a wonderful thought. The point I was trying to make is that through the death of Jesus Christ the power and penalty of sin has been removed. Victory is available. We just need to learn to walk in the Spirit of God to put the victory at work.
Anonymous #2: Great encouragement.
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